Gabby Williams scored 30 points on Saturday night, 28 of them after halftime, and the Valkyries beat the Dream 68-63 in Game 7 to win the title in their second season as a franchise. More than 3.3 million people watched it.
That number is still preliminary, but if it holds, it is the most-watched WNBA game of any kind since the inaugural year in 1997 and the most-watched postseason game the league has ever had. The seven-game series averaged about 1.89 million viewers, the biggest Finals audience in WNBA history.
Here is what I keep thinking about...
That 3.3 million is about what an average NBA game drew during opening week. It is more than the Celtics and Pistons pulled on opening day, and it is not that far off the Thunder and Spurs.
Put that in context. The NBA says eight games in its opening week averaged at least 2 million viewers, a first, and it called the week a record. Game 7 was on cable and a streaming service, with no broadcast network behind it, and it still landed in that range.
And that brings me to the most important part…
Two Teams, Zero Titles
Nobody in this series had a trophy to defend. The Valkyries were only in their second season, and the Dream were making their fourth trip to the Finals still waiting on a first championship. Atlanta had won three games by double digits and forced a Game 7 after a weekday matinee. Golden State had come back from a nine-point deficit in the third quarter with a 17-7 run.
Then came the finish. Rhyne Howard tied it at 57 for Atlanta with 2:41 left, and Williams answered with a three. Allisha Gray hit two free throws with 11 seconds left, Atlanta forced a jump ball, and Veronica Burton won it and hit two free throws with 5.1 seconds left to set the final.
Williams got the headline, but this was not a one-woman game. Veronica Burton finished with 10 points, 11 rebounds and 5 assists, and she is the one who won the jump ball and made the free throws at the end. Kiah Stokes grabbed 13 rebounds. On the other side, Jordin Canada scored 18 and Allisha Gray added 16. Nobody on that floor was a bystander, and I think that is part of why people stayed.
Angel Reese deserves more than a line in a box score. She pulled down 78 rebounds through the first six games, a Finals record, and added 12 more in Game 7. She scored 30 with 16 rebounds in Game 2, then had 15 points, 14 rebounds and 6 assists in the Game 6 win that forced a Game 7. She also has her own shoe, the Reebok Angel Reese 1, and she is the only player in either lineup who does. A signature athlete in a Finals that goes seven games is exactly what a brand hopes for.
I think this proves what draws a crowd. It is not a name on a poster. It is two sides with something to lose, one game left, and a clock. The numbers say so.
The first six games averaged about 1.7 million. Game 7 nearly doubled that. Nothing about the matchup changed between Game 6 and Game 7, except that there was no Game 8.
And don’t get me started on a midday, midweek Finals game. Game 6 tipped at 12:30 p.m. ET on a Thursday, in the middle of a workday, and it still pulled about 1.5 million people. That’s about what Game 5 drew on a Monday night against football and the World Series. Hopefully numbers like these keep us from another ridiculous midday, midweek game in the future.
The Fine Print
Don’tt read this number against 1997 or 1999 without squinting. Game 7 aired on USA, CNBC and Peacock, and the figure combines cable viewing with Peacock streaming. The old records were set on broadcast TV and ESPN, before Nielsen changed how it counts. The NBA numbers I am comparing it to use the same blend of Nielsen and Adobe streaming counts, so that comparison is closer, but it is still a rough one.
Game 6 was measured a little differently and could still move. Game 2’s 1.33 million comes from a single source. If the final Game 7 number comes in different, the series average moves with it.
Next Step To Watch
The final Nielsen figures. If Game 7 holds above 3.3 million, the “most since 1997” line stands. If it slips, it becomes a tie with the August Sky and Fever regular season game, which drew 3.31 million on NBC.
Williams wore the Air Jordan 41 and Reese carries her own Reebok signature, all on the biggest night in the league’s postseason history, and I think the brands that are not on that floor need to be paying closer attention.
The bigger next step is on the audience. If you watched Game 7, you are the person the league has to keep. So tell me where you are starting from. What pulled you in, and who are you going to watch next season? If you want where I land on Caitlin Clark's shoe, I wrote about it when the Caitlin 1 launched.
Keep building.
-Nick
I’m Nick Engvall. I’ve worked in the sneaker industry for over two decades. I built the original Eastbay Blog during my time at Sole Collector, led the first dedicated sneaker team for Complex, led the first UGC and seeding programs for Finish Line, employee #9 at StockX, Sr. Director at Stadium Goods, and much more. Now, I run Sneaker History and host the Sneaker History podcast, with over 600K downloads. Outside the newsletter, I take on select consulting and advisory work with brands, retailers, and founders across the footwear industry. If you’re building something and want an experienced set of eyes on it, reply to this one or reach out. I’d love to hear what you’re working on.
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